The Soapbox: Healthier lunch options at Stevenson, all lunch options dwindling at Elk Grove High, a red-light camera law and more.

Land of giant sports logos:

After the NFL Draft concludes in Chicago this spring (April 28-30), another pro sport will set up shop in 2017 with the NHL Draft coming here for the first time in its 53-year history. The city of big shoulders is becoming the city of big logos as these popular televised events take hold. No word yet on what NBA and MLB honchos are thinking.

Lots of ties to No. 1:

Stevenson's Jalen Brunson plays basketball for No. 1 Villanova. Did you know the last four NCAA champs had local players? Duke's Jahlil Okafor (Chicago), U-Conn's Ryan Boatright (East Aurora), Louisville's Wayne Blackshear (Chicago), and Kentucky's Anthony Davis (Chicago) all won titles. And Wisconsin's Frank Kaminsky (Benet) came close.

What happened?

What a crushing blow. The beautiful new Joe Caputo & Sons grocer in Elk Grove Village is closing Sunday, the result of a cash flow catastrophe. Caputo's plans to redevelop the old Dominick's shopping center at Lee and Oakton in Des Plaines are kaput. A venerable business in tatters. Everybody loses - the Caputos, shoppers, the communities.

Healthy eating:

Stevenson High School plans to offer students fresher, healthier and more diverse meal options in the fall. School officials are working with their food-service contractor, Sodexo, to help kids eat better by serving dishes with "significantly" less fat, salt and carbohydrates. It won't mean the end of cheeseburgers and fries, but it provides healthier alternatives.

Food fight:

But one wonders what alternatives face thousands of students in Elk Grove Township District 59 in the final weeks of the school year when the district's vendor, also Sodexo, pulls out of its contract. Turns out this is the standard food service contract used across Illinois, but there must be a way to avoid such unfortunate timing.

Elgin and low-income housing:

Mirroring a nationwide trend, the Housing Authority of Elgin has launched a nearly $17 million project to steer its public housing into the hands of private investors and away from the federal government, which lacks funds to support such projects.

The benefits:

The 74 units scattered throughout Elgin will be renovated and two other low-income buildings, which housing officials say are a source of crime, will be put on the market. The plan also ensures low-income housing won't be concentrated in one area, because of steps taken to provide more variety of incomes among the residents of the units.

Seeing red:

Republican state Sen. David Harris of Arlington Heights has filed legislation that would require an online database of accident statistics for locations where red-light cameras are posted. We called for the same thing as one step for monitoring the use and value of the cameras. This is legislation that ought to move easily. Will it? We'll be watching.

State of confusion

Many were incredulous that Illinois has no money for notifications and now expects us to figure out on our own whether we're due for a vehicle emissions check. Just for perspective, compare that to the people in need who've lost state services as bickering politicians put us through eight months, and counting, without a budget.

An end and a beginning?

The dispute between Wheaton College and tenured Professor Larycia Hawkins over her remarks regarding the nature of God has spilled into sometimes acrimonious debates far from the confines of the private school's campus. The new peace studies scholarship in Hawkins' name won't end the controversy, but hopefully will move the debate in a positive direction.